Demon Wars
The Demon Wars is the name given to a period of time between 2100 and 1700 B.C. (Although the exact dates are unkown due to the unreliability of the chroniclers) that saw the first and only large-scale invasion of human lands ny demonkind. Although it ended with a victory for mankind, it permanently scarred the souls of men, as they learned to fear magic and those who practice it. Backround When mankind first arrived on the continent, they waged war against the Dwarves, driving these into extinction. The centuries following their victory saw a rapid spread of civilization. Despite this, the age was very chaotic, with the land being split in a patchwork of warring Jarls. Technology was still primitive, and runes were only starting to appear, and even there, only some scholars knew them. Although Iron was sometimes used in crafts, bronze was the main metal used for weapons and armor. Very little is known about this period. If human civilization of this time is obscure, the doings of demons are even more so. What is known is that a powerful demon known as Cecil rallied his kind in a vast army, and began searching for lands to conquer. Being seperated from the mortal plane, he needed to open a portal connecting both realms, but such a thing would require followers on the other side as well. The Invasion Over the years, Cecil slowly gathered a following, as his cult grew among men. Although their strength grew, most Jarls dismissed them as harmless lunatics. Establishing their headquarters at their temple of Mount Erebus in what is now Ravenkrak, the cultists began to work on opening a portal to the outer realm. Sometime around 2100 B.C., they suceeded, and Cecil, the first to pass through, then stabalized the portal with his power so that his army could cross. Pouring from the dread peak in their thousands, they slaugheted their way south across the Nordic Plains, with Cecil at their head. An area of many leagues was emptied of all life around Mount Erebus, but most of the lands held by the demons were dotted with pockets of resistance, with many isolated villages trying desperately to survive. The main body of the demon army continued to advance, defeating all opposition, and leaving behind forces to terrorize the countryside. It wasn't until they reached Celland that the local Jarls had organized some sort of coalition. Leading an army of northmen, Jarl Porus the Black managed to slow down their advance, which, although not a victory in itself, demonstrated to mankind that the demons were not invincible. It was around this time that Iron was first tested against demons, and found to be remarkably effective at slaying them. After his father Porus died on the field of battle, Jarl Porus Damshasher took control of the assembled forces of man and began the task of equiping them in iron. After a few years of minor skirmishes, the two armies clashed at the Battle of the Hamrir, as Porus tried to halt them for good at the river Hamrir in what is now Borkstvo. Seeing Porus's army across the river, Cecil dismissed them as yet another rabble, and, his arrogance overruling his caution, ordered his minions across the ford. As the battle evolved, Porus waited until the time was ripe, and gave the order for his trap to be sprung; Miles upriver, a great dam was torn apart by his men, releasing a torrent of water that crashed into the demonic army, sweeping them into the sea. At the same time, a force of cavalry charged into the rear of the demons on the opposite side of the river, causing them to panic and rout. What happened to Cecil is unkown; Some stories say that Porus slew him in the ford, while others maintain that he fled back to his plane when he saw the battle shift in the humans' favor. Regardless, the end was the same; Cecil vanished, and, with no leadership, the demon army desintegrated. Nordic victory Despite this victory, the war was far from over. The demons had left many of their kin behind, after all. Porus has to watch as his army disbanded, as Jarls returned to protect their own holding from marauding demons. Had they stayed, the war might have ended soon thereafter; Nevertheless, they departed, and for many centuries the situation remained the same, with demons running amok killing as they pleased. Skirmishes during this time period never even aproached the importance of the Battle of Hamrir. This is not to say that the period saw no effort against the demons; Simply that this effort was disorganized and varied from Hold to Hold. Cecil was rumored to still roam the Northlands, taking the form of a handsome young man who claimed to be a hermit, traveling from village to village. Wherever this handsome gypsy went, plauge, dissent, and death followed. The population found itself brimming with strife and sickness, and neighbors were often discovered to have malicious demons inhabiting their bodies. Whatever happened to this messanger of death, and if he was even real at all, is uncertain. Over time, however, Cecil's magic holding the portal stable began to wane, and demons could no longer cross in as large numbers as they used to. Soon they stopped coming altogether, much to the chagrin of those trapped in the mortal plane. By 1800 B.C., demons had vanished from the southern countryside; And by 1770, they were confined to the far north. Finally, at around 1700 B.C., a hero named Mygrell, leading an army of an alliance of the most powerful Jarls of the time, defeated what remained of the demons at the foot of Mount Erebus, and his shamans shut the portal. He tore the temple down, stone by stone, and sacrificed what cultists remained in the name of the nordic gods. Some demons doubtlessly survived their defeat, but these were very few in number and dwindled over the decades, eventually dissapearing into myth and legend. Aftermath Although the demons were gone, they continued to impact humans society for millenia. The destruction was such that the Nordic people were imprinted with a deep fear for magic, sorcerers and especially demons. In addition, the war brought to the attention of humanity iron, which had previously been overlooked for tools of war. Being stronger and more resilient than bronze, it was after the war the standart for military equipment. Another effect of the war was the decentralization of power. It was not great kings that had defeated the demons; It was the small folk, led by minor Jarls, who fought their own independant wars, driving the Demons further and further back. Emboldened by their success, these Jarls rebelled against their lieges, and, with their experienced soldiers, established independant realms. More so than ever, the land was divided, and would remain in this state until the last century B.C.. Nobody knows if the demons were truly defeated, or if they were simply deterred. The invasion caused mankind to realize the danger of the outer realm, but at the same time, it breeded fear and distrust, causing such calamities as the Great Nordic purges and the Inquisiton. Category:War Category:Demons